Stray
by Mered
Summary: What if the homunculus never happened and Ed's search for the Philosophers Stone is successful? What if he discovers truths that change everything? What if a fling with Roy Mustang becomes much more than what it started as? Ed's fate - his destiny - lies in his own hands, what will he do with it? Will his choices give him his happy ending or will they bring unimaginable sadness?


_Whilst the Eastern Desert is known for its barren landscape, there are several things that make it more interesting than other places…_

_One interesting place in the desert is in the areas of [x,x] and [y,y]. In this area during random times of the year, flora is found growing. No one knows where it comes from, but there are speculations that it's alchemy…_

_In regard to the growing flora in the area of [x,x] and [y,y] I have determined (as most people guessed) it's of alchemical origin. I hope to send my apprentice out there to have a look, perhaps he could entertain some workers to dig into the sand and see what comes up? _

_My former master kept an old log book…in it I found some interesting research, so I took a trip out to the desert (as he had suggested in the book all those years ago but never actually told me) and got to work. The sand was tough to move, it was as if for every grain of sand I dug up, another one piled in. I got no farther than that. _

_Past research has shown that sand is alchemically replaced when anything is taken out, so, to avoid this problem one needs to create a counter-array and activate it so they may quickly glance at what may be hidden. _

_The counter array worked perfectly! It didn't last long, maybe five minutes, but I pulled out an interesting item! However, as I am not an alchemist and had another draw the array, I have no idea what this thing is. It looks to me like it's a very pretty ruby…_

_That was no ruby that man found! Holding it here in my hand I can feel the pull of alchemical power and something else within it. I don't know what it is, but I can say from now on I'll be calling it a "Red Stone". _

_I continued -'s research, and agree with his findings; it seems to have some sort of charge to it, I'm not quite sure how to activate it though. I'm almost afraid to, what if there's a centuries old trap lurking inside of it? I think I'll hand it over to the military. _

_Military Report: 123AF _

_We received word of this "Red Stone" as another alchemist coined it. True, it has alchemical charge to it, but the other part isn't normal. We're going to try activating it. _

_Military Report: 123AF2 _

_After activating it, our alchemist consequently died. No charge seems to have left the stone. We'll try again with a more powerful alchemist. _

_Military Report: 123AF3_

_Success! He activated it, but he was blathering about strange things. We've had to lock him away as he's gone mad. It's too bad that we never knew what he saw or what actually happened. But we won't try anymore experiments as of yet. It seems to be too dangerous. _

_Military Report: 113358389065XGHTY445678_

_Referencing Reports 123AF1-3, the man who successfully alchemized with the Red Stone (dead some fifteen years now), lived longer than the average human lifespan. Perhaps this was a side effect – REST OF REPORT MISSING. _

Ed sat tapping his finger thoughtfully on the last page. The military report numbers were useless – they were referencing an old, unused system from some of the earliest days of Amestris. All that was left were these brief summaries of the reports. But from what he had gleaned, well, it looked like he and Al should head to the Eastern Desert. He would have time – he knew it – because Mustang had told him he was free of missions at the moment.

The only problem he had with finding that flora was that Amestris had grown and shifted so the coordinates were no longer valid, and that would require weeks of legwork out in the desert. He hated the desert; he hated the sand, the sun and the heat. But for Al he would do it.

Gathering the books in his arms, he began to re-shelve them. When the last one fell into place, he returned to his table and piled up all his notes and papers and exited the library with a half-hearted wave to the librarians on duty.

Turning left at the corner on Judd Street, he headed back towards the military dorms where he and Al were staying for the meantime. He greeted the desk clerk and walked up the (three!) flights of stairs to his door and stopped. He tilted his head to the side as he heard talking (shouting, really) in the dorm next to his. Oliver Ricker was an obnoxious man in his mid-thirties and unable to rise above the rank of Major. Apparently, he and his current girlfriend were having a screaming match and since he knew from prior experience he and Al would be able to talk in private without being heard.

Al was waiting for him when he got in the door and once he'd comfortably settled himself onto the couch, he began explaining to Al what he'd found in the library.

"So that means we've found the Philosophers Stone!"

"Or something like it at least. I mean, does it really matter if it's _the_ Philosopher's Stone or not? Because from those entries that I copied over into my notes it sounds if there's a hell of a lot more of them in that area. Do you remember that article we read not too long ago about how flora is still growing somewhere in the Eastern Desert? That would mean more of them exist, and if they do, they'll be where this one was found."

"I do remember that article because it mentioned the fact that is was in the current center part of the Eastern Desert. We can ask people we come across if they have any knowledge of things like that -!"

"That's what I was thinking. There are plenty of wanderers and small civilizations out there – desert people - who can probably tell us legends and stories of alchemical or magical happenings. Anything like that can lead us to that place."

"Do you think Colonel Mustang will get mad if we leave without telling him?"

"No – he did tell me I had no missions. When we get back I'll just tell that smug bastard I didn't think it was going to take so long."

"Brother!"

Ed laughed. "It's not going to matter if we restore our bodies. Because then I'll resign whenever I can!"

Al hummed under his breath. "We've been researching all this month, Wednesday is, what, October 31st ? and that means All Hallows Eve. We should probably leave tomorrow or Tuesday then if we want some time in the Eastern Desert."

Ed pulled at his lip. "Let's go Tuesday, I need to get some stuff ready before we go!"

The train ride had once been one of the longest parts of Ed's journey; - one of the most hated parts, too. But now, he often looked forward to them because some of his best leads were talking to the people on the train and hearing their stories. It also gave him time to catch up with Al, which was hard to do when they were in proximity to the Colonel because the man always had him running errands.

This train ride had optimistic hope in it – if he found the flora it meant he had a chance to find the stone and restore Al. But for some reason in the back of his head there was a niggling thought that he'd heard the term, "Red Stone" before.

But as soon as the thought came to Ed it was blown away by the conductor announcing they had arrived at the last station before the train headed back. This was it. This could be the clue he and Al had desperately been searching for all these years.

The desert was sandy, Ed pointed out and Al smartly told him that deserts tended to be sandy. Ed stuck his tongue out. Al, if he had a face, would have had a hard time not laughing.

And so, they journeyed out into the depths of the desert. The first people they happened upon were a group of wanderers, people who claimed they had no home and answered to no one. The military, however claimed that they belonged to Amestris and were always devising ways to make the people pay.

They slowed to a stop when Ed hailed them from the horse he was riding (stolen), and Al - who had all sorts of endurance - had been keeping pace.

The wanderers eyed them warily from their caravan and the eldest Elric seemed to be oblivious to their hesitance when he called out: "Hey! You!"

"Brother!" Al hissed scandalized. "Be nicer!"

Ed ignored him. "I'm not going to hurt you – I just want to ask some questions, you might be able to help me!"

Two hours, thirty eight minutes, and fifty one seconds later, the two brothers made their escape. Ed had asked the wanderers about their secret cities after he found that they had no stories of interest, or anything pertaining to the Stone they were searching for.

But when he asked them about their cities they seemed to clam up and shook their heads saying, "We'd like to help you, but it is impossible for us to relate to you the location of the city."

At a desert town (it was really just a point for travelers to stock up on food and water) Al talked to some other travelers who were returning to Amestris.

The young women looked at each other eagerly when Al talked about the flora they were searching for.

"Yeah! We saw something like that," the brunette remarked. "There was quite a bit of it even though it was sitting in the middle of the desert. We picked some to study but it had withered into dust just hours after we left."

"Then you can tell me where you found it!" Al's voice seemed to reach a squeaky pitch.

"Unfortunately, no. We never wrote down the coordinates for it." The blonde interjected.

"Not that you'd be able to find it in that place anyways," a young man butt into the conversation.

"Why not?"

"The sands shift, so where it was on Tuesday, it could be miles away on Wednesday."

Al wanted to frown. "Then how does anyone get anywhere in the desert?"

"These cities and certain landmarks don't move. That's how you stay alive in this desert."

"Hm. My brother and I really need to find that flora though…"

"Your best bet it just stock piling food and water and wandering through the desert for a few weeks. You'll probably come upon what you're looking for eventually."

Al thanked the three of them for their help and went off to find his older brother.

Three days later both Elric brothers were utterly lost in the sea of sand, and - lacking any reference point - they wandered until they bumped into some other travelers.

Ed asked them if the sands shifted, and again, they hesitated. "Yes and no. The sands do move, but they move in certain patterns. If you know what the pattern or patterns are you can find what you're looking for fairly easily."

Ed asked them excitedly if they would be able to tell them where the flora was.

"Not exactly, but we can tell you where it will be for the next few weeks. We will sell you a map – an ancient map that will be helpful to you."

With a deft hand they labeled areas on a newer map where it was likely to appear and Ed grinned at them, thanking them with a nod of his head before he took off towards the first location.

The first location was a dud - probably because they arrived there too late, Ed speculated, - so what if they chose a point in the pattern a few days ahead and worked their way there instead?

After a few weeks of desperately trying to keep ahead of the rotating sands they managed to catch up to the flora.

The flora was nothing special, just a few patches of grass and a couple of shrubs. With excited hands, Ed activated the array the book had shown him in a greater magnitude and it pulled gallons and gallons of sand out of the way. Yet, nothing seemed to appear. Frowning, Ed sat back on his haunches and stared at the map.

He twisted it this way and that, but there was nothing wrong with the location.

"You're not doing it right," the voice spoke above his head softly. "Here, let me help."

Surprised, Ed nearly ran the man through with his automail blade. The man smiled wryly at him.

"I don't mean you any harm, I just thought you might like some help. Especially if you're searching for something ancient."

Edward took a good look at the man and his companions and was almost shocked to the core. They had similar coloring to himself (and Al, were he human, he supposed) meaning that their hair was a darker blonde, and - although their eyes were brown - they held a gold hue.

The man smiled again, "You're wondering about our coloring – it is similar to yours it seems – and so I'll indulge your curiosity. We're descendants from what you would consider a forgotten society, it's a society that no longer exists, like much of what they created. But back to why I stopped by to help you. The way you're holding those maps is wrong. By holding them in the right way, you can find whatever you're looking for."

Ed offered up the maps and watched as the man studied them for a moment before nodding. "Do you know what you're looking for?"

"We're looking for the place where a red stone was found. Supposedly it had flora growing on top of it."

The man hummed softly. "Well, there are a couple of options that I can show you, but you probably need a better explanation than the ones most people offer you about the shifting sands.

"Although the flora was found above this place you seek, it may not always be so. Beneath the sand are many, many ruins and when one of these flora are above them they can be accessed. The roots burrow deep into the sand and create a gateway that's easier to get through.

"On days the flora is away from these ruins they are impossible to access, there is simply too much sand to move. So your timing needs to be absolutely perfect. Do you understand that?

Ed made a noise of agreement, irritated agreement, but agreement none the less.

"Yes? Good. Well, the next step is marking all the places the flora appears and sizing the map to fit this ancient one, but that seems to already have been done. After that you overlay the maps, the new one on top. Like this."

The man placed the new, thinner, more transparent map over the ancient one. "And look, you can see the days where the flora is over the ruins. So today and tomorrow the flora isn't over any ruins, so you simply can't access them.

"Your best bet is to go to this ruin here," the man tapped a place on the map, "because you'll have time to get there and access it. Beware though, the flora only stays in place for a week at a time, sometimes less, so if you go in at the wrong time you can get trapped within the ruins with no way out," the man paused a moment, before continuing on, "actually, that's not entirely correct, some ruins are linked and you can sometimes get out at the other end. You still need to be careful, many people die down there."

Ed shivered at the thought of being trapped down in the ground for a long period of time. "Thanks for the help, though. I hope we'll meet again in the future."

The man smiled. "I would enjoy that -maybe then you can tell me about your interesting color."

"I don't know anything about it; both my parents – the people who would know – are either dead or missing. I wish I did know, however."

"That's too bad - it might have been an interesting conversation."

"Yes, it may have been. I'm sorry that I can't offer any information in return."

"You can tell me your name. I'll consider that acceptable payment."

"It's Edward Elric."

"Edward Elric, I'll remember that. Good luck with your journey."

"Thanks again!"

The man waved a hand as he and his fellow companions departed.

Ed told Al everything he had learned when his younger brother returned from searching the surrounding area.

"That was nice of them, wasn't it Brother? They really helped us."

"Yeah, they did."

"So," Al asked, "what was his name?"

Ed paused.

"You forgot to ask didn't you?"

"Ah, perhaps?"

"Brother!" Al scolded, though it was tinged with amusement. "Next time you see him you'll ask his name, won't you?"

"I suppose that'd be the polite thing to do."

"It would," Al agreed and tucked his brother into bed despite the elder's embarrassment.

Morning seemed to dawn too early for Ed who was _really_ not a morning person. Al, however, was anxious to be on the way because he wanted to arrive at the location the man had pointed out on the map before it was too late.

Ed wearily mounted his horse and slumped across its neck. Al did his best to keep his brother in the saddle. Miraculously they only stopped twice – once for lunch, and the second time to camp for the night.

The next three days saw this repetition of "utter boredom" according to Ed. Al was slowly losing patience with his complaining brother.

"I thought you wanted to do this!"

"I do," Ed remarked sullenly, "but this complaining seems to pass the time much more quickly than anything else."

_Of course_, Al thought wryly to himself, _he's doing it because it aggravates me. Maybe I should hit him just _once…_ but that's simply too mean, and if I start acting like Brother, who knows what'll happen! _

The appointed day arrived sooner than Al hoped for and he watched warily as his brother activated the array. This time it seemed to work and gallons of sand came flying out. Al followed Ed as he slid into the hole the array was making.

The fall was relatively quick and when they landed it was on sand. Standing, Ed dusted himself off and stomped through the sand searching for a torch of some sort. His hand brushed one and he yanked it out of its holder with a triumphant yell. From his pocket he drew out a lighter (one he'd kidnapped long ago from Havoc) and lit the torch.

He waved it around for a moment before deciding that he wanted to move further into the cavernous space. As he stepped off the sand, his boot thumped onto what seemed to be cobblestone. Ed crouched down to study it and as he held his torch off to the side he could see grass growing. He took off his glove and touched it gently. _Real grass_, he thought to himself. Standing again he paced a few more steps inwards and turned in a slow circle to take in everything. To the front and left of where they stood was grass, and to the right was what appeared to be a maze.

Ed curiously moved towards it and as he got closer he could see there were vines and flowers in full bloom on the maze walls. Like the grass, it seemed to have not been affected by the sand or the darkness all around.

_Alchemy?_ Ed wondered to himself. Plants and flowers needed air, rain and sunlight to survive. Most of that didn't exist down here. So how _did_ it? He brushed his finger against the blooms. He supposed this was something he might never figure out, and - although it was curious - it didn't really matter. It wasn't what he was searching for.

With a few steps to the right he moved to go around the maze but found that both to the right and left there was no space to squeeze through. They'd have to go through the maze itself.

Looking back he waved to Al and motioned to the maze before speaking. "We have to actually go through it!" before darting into the maze. Al dashed after him in hopes of keeping his brother in sight range.

Three hours later (according to Ed's watch) they were lost. Ed turned in a slow circle muttering, "I swear it was _that_ way."

"Give it up Brother, we're lost. We should just keep going and eventually we'll find our way out."

Al gripped his brother by the arm and towed him to the right. "We'll keep going right and we should be good. Okay?"

Ed muttered what might have been a yes, before dissolving into silence.

Al was right on all counts. They found the center of the maze and the prize they'd been looking for: a clue.

The clue came in the form of a portion of a stone tablet. Ed held it between his hands and frowned at it.

"I think we can translate it, but it could take a while. I have the feeling however that if we try to take it with us it'll dissolve, perhaps by some sort of "alchemy" or just because it's so old, the air outside could very well destroy it. We'll have to be quick about it and translate it here."

Al tapped his finger on a part of the stone tablet. "Look at this piece here, it's like symbols from alchemy. I bet we can translate it this way…"

"Not entirely, though… it looks as if some ancient language similar to Amestrian is used as well. I know we can translate it using an older form of Amestrian, yeah?"

Al nodded. "You have your journal?"

"Of course!" Ed sounded affronted and pulled it out. "Let's get started!"

As the boys began their work, they started with words that were close to modern and an older form of Amestrian.

_Yict stood for 'city' while cersory stood for sorcery. Snda became sand, geessla translated to ageless, and nardge was garden. _

After the basic words were translated they ended up with something close to this:

"_The city was created with sorcery – magic – and it was built beneath the sand for protection from the ages of time. It became known as 'The Ageless City'. The gardens there were in bloom all year round. The secret of this was buried in the cave of blood." _

The tablet contained more writing, some of it indistinguishable and other parts irrelevant to their search. It seemed that just like the wanderers of this age, these people were elusive about mentioning their sacred cities and places.

Around the edges of this tablet were the alchemy symbols Al had mentioned, and it was these they saved for last. These would be the hardest ones to translate.

They took their time, though, and learned it was a code of sorts - a code that would allow them to access certain places within the different ruins they might travel to.

Four days later an excited Ed and Al returned to the surface only to come face to face with the last person they ever expected to see again.

Their father.

Ed swung his fist at the man who caught it in surprise, and then stared closely at the eldest Elric's face. "Edward?" he questioned.

Then he turned to the armor. "Why are you wearing my vintage armor?"

Furious, Ed took a swing at Hohenheim with his right hand this time. His father managed to duck this attempt and Al took hold of his brother.

"Dad," he said softly, and if armor could have grinned, it would have. "I am the suit of armor. Let me tell you…"

Hohenheim was shaking his head when they were done with the full explanation of what happened to them, and what _exactly_ they were doing wandering around the desert.

"I'm afraid that you may have been journeying for nothing after all."

Ed glared. "Why's that?"

"Well, let me begin with my childhood, and things will begin to clear-up for you…

_The city was prosperous, it thrived even in the middle of the desert. It was their pride and joy. They were the most advance and forward thinking of all other current civilizations. They had a future that stretched for miles in front of them. _

_Their city was often regarded as one of the most beautiful cities to exist and it was easy to see why. The buildings were made of brick, but a brick that seemed to own a tint of gold, and they were precise in cut and placement. They towered above the largest animals and stretched their golden heads to the sky, soaking in the warmth of the sunlight. The builders were proud of these buildings - they seemed almost alive at times. But beneath this great city lay another, one that rivaled it in beauty and majesty. This city's greatness wasn't in the buildings, but in the gardens and the ageless aspect of it. _

_This city was created with something that wasn't quite alchemy – it was called sorcery. It was a powerful magic based on superstition rather than science. Those who held the powers of this sorcery were thought of as "demi-gods", and they were considered irreplaceable and great. _

_It was these sorcerers who created this city. They made an everlasting garden, one that didn't die. Whatever that secret was they took it to the grave when they died. These magically powered gardens had a fatal point though. If ever exposed to true sunlight or rain, or even the open air, they would die. The city too if ever exposed to the air would crumble into a million little pieces. These warnings would need to be passed on from generation to generation. And so they were for a time until even they forgot where the city itself lay. _

_Then the great city was finally given a name worthy of its magnificence, "Xerxes". They called it The City for Gods, The Second Ageless City, and The Golden Place. _

Hohenheim took a deep breath. "That is the story of my people – I am from Xerxes myself. There's more to this story, but I'll only tell part of it.

_I grew up a slave; my father was a descendent of a sorcerer and my mother a mere slave. I was shipped off to another household and worked there until my early teens when I gained aptitude for this new "magic" - alchemy. This alchemy was based off of science rather than superstition, and people seemed to accept it more, and so it became official. Being the son of a sorcerer no longer mattered. _

_Instead I focused on gaining skill in alchemy, and my master was helpful in this aspect. I gained my freedom in this way. _

_He decided to seriously train me and became my mentor in all things. Everything. One day he took me to this cave – beautiful yet disturbing. It was as if the red tint to it glowed but the color was that of blood. _

_At first it seemed ominous but the more we visited it, the friendlier it seemed to get until one day I began visiting it on my own. My mentor was proud of me, and one day when I was in my thirties mentioned working on a study together. I was eager to help him in anything and everything. He had become my life. _

_So we took a trip to the cave and he told me he'd designed an experiment that could be dangerous – volatile – that it could very well kill us… but if it succeeded then we'd be the greatest people on this world. _

_It was true, as I soon learned if we succeeded we'd be the most recognized people in this world. I thought of the fame that I could attain. I thought, in this way, I'd find a beautiful young woman who would fall in love with me and want to marry me. _

_And so, we began the experiment. _

Again, Hohenheim paused. "Let me mention that the ingredients we used then no longer exist today, I'm not even sure I could tell you what we used. At that point I was just following directions and, well, you'll soon see why…

_Not too many weeks later he declared we were going to move onto the next stage. We were going to combine sorcery and alchemy together. It definitely sounded volatile but if done correctly it could bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange. _

_This was the most exciting part – it had been years since anything had been done with sorcery and so we started the phase of mixing certain elements and plant life together. _

_Whatever we produced was insanely foul smelling and it made me gag quite a bit of the time. I drew the array in this thick stuff and in the center of it were large chunks of red veined rock and more of the thick substance. _

_My mentor told me to go activate it from the outside, and he would activate it from the inside. It worried me a bit being in the middle of such a large transmutation, but I trusted him. Trusted that he wouldn't let any harm come to me. We activated it and I blanked out. _

_When I woke up, my mentor was gone, and so was the thick stuff as well as the red veined rock. Instead, the whole cave was speckled with shimmering, glowing red stones. _

_I was stunned. They were some of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. I touched one and it reacted to me, glowing even more, and even as I touched it, I could tell that its power was strong. Strong and dangerous. _

_For the next few hours I searched for my mentor but there was no sign of him. He'd abandoned me. He'd probably thought the experiment had failed and left. I was disappointed. _

"And I never saw him again. I sealed up the cave and walked the few miles west back to the city. However, I found that as the years passed I didn't age. Not one bit. I was ageless. And I remembered an old text I'd studied that talked about how an old city was made ageless. It was an interesting comparison.

"Now before you get all excited, I hid these for a reason, they're very dangerous and there's a limited amount since no more can be made. Once they're all used up they're gone forever. That's why I won't tell you where they are. They could kill you and I won't let you two get hurt.

"I'm sorry the story was so long. I really need to be on my way and so do you too. Go back and find another way to achieve your ends."

The week long train ride back to Eastern Command passed much more quickly than Ed had expected, but it probably had to do with the fact that Al distracted him with figuring out where the cave was located.

Eventually they pulled out the ancient map and located an unnamed ruined city and tracked a few miles east – from which they believed Hohenheim had walked from the cave. Around that area on the map was marked with the key of "unknown". That was probably their ticket. That was the way to restoring their bodies.

Ed dashed up the stairs of Eastern Command demanding to see the Colonel. One of the soldiers told him awkwardly that he'd been transferred to Central whilst he was gone. Irritated, Ed stomped back down the steps and to the train station, Al trailing after him, to buy tickets to Central.

After the two day train ride Ed was in a bad mood as he stared at the Colonel.

"Fullmetal," the man stated. "You've been off traipsing across the country when I needed you here. I have several missions that piled up for you –"

He was rudely cut off by Edward's snarl. "I don't give a fuck what you had planned, _I _found the best news. _I _found the stone _and_ the way to restore our bodies!" Ed stated smugly. "So if you think –"

Mustang's hand flew across the desk and grabbed a hold of Ed's lapels and he tugged the boy until he was face to face with him. "What did you just say?" he hissed.

Ed's mouth made a movement as he realized he'd given away any advantage he'd had in the game they were playing.

Finally he said, "That's what I was doing when I was "traipsing across the country", as you so eloquently put it."

Mustang sat back in his seat slowly. "I think we need to talk. Come see me at this address tomorrow afternoon." He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it over. "Bring Al with you. The three of us need to discuss something."

Ed slunk out of the office and returned to the dorm room where Al awaited him. The two boys fell back into their normal routine after returning from a trip: cover all major details, write out questions, rework theories, unpack, and then discuss. But Ed figured this last one was probably one they'd be doing with his commanding officer.

The Colonel opened the door when they knocked, took Ed's coat, had him stash his boots in a closet and showed them into a sitting room.

The older man sat in a chair near a burning fire. The weather was always cold in December in Central. At Eastern Command it wasn't so bad. They still got snow, but not the heavy falls that they got in the central and northern part of the country. Likewise, the south barely got any and the west only got a little.

Once they were settled, the man demanded that the explain everything. Between the two boys they'd managed to finish the tale by late that evening.

"And so, we've worked out where the cave is. All we need to do now is go and visit it. You know, just to see. If it's true, then we're that one step closer to success."

"I agree, but there are some things I need to tell you tomorrow. We've run out of time tonight - go home and get some rest and come back later tomorrow."

Roy sat silently in his house, the fire still crackled in the fire place letting out a fair amount of heat. He picked up the glass of alcohol he'd poured and took a sip, savoring the taste before swallowing.

He was happy for the Elric brothers, he was, but there was a part of the story they were missing, and since they had mentioned _that_ they deserved to know. Perhaps he shouldn't have kept it from them in the first place, but at the time it hadn't been necessary, it wasn't even really _real_… or had it been?

He vaguely wondered if he'd ever find out the truth.

Ed pounded on Mustang's door with delight. He hoped that he'd leave a dent, something for the bastard to remember him by. And when the door finally, _finally_, opened up, Ed shoved his way in and towards the sitting room leaving Al to apologize for him.

Mustang simply rolled his eyes and waved off Al's apology, saying, "Don't worry about it, I know what he's like. Impossible."

Al had chuckled and nodded his helmet before he followed the older man at a sedate pace to the sitting room where they found Ed nearly in the fireplace.

"What are you doing, Fullmetal?"

"Trying to keep warm! It's freezing out there in case you didn't notice! My hands are so fucking cold!"

The Colonel tossed him a blanket, "That should keep you warm. Now settle down and let me tell you two something very important.

_The Ishval War was horrifying, and - in some ways - I've never been truly able to forgive myself for what happened then. I know now that there was probably nothing I could have done, but I will make up for what I did. Anyway, you know about the start of the war, so I won't go through that again, but I'll tell you bits and pieces of the secret things that were never supposed to be released. _

_As Alchemists we are dogs of the military, we are human weapons, and that's how we were used in Ishval. We were brutal, without mercy. At one point, though, we began losing strength. The Ishvalans were stronger than the brass had anticipated. They needed to come up with a solution, and come up with one quickly. _

_A man named Dr. Marcoh spoke of a myth that might be just what they needed. For the next few months he and a few lab assistants worked tirelessly on this project. In the end it wasn't a complete success, but it would work for what it was meant to do. _

_This thing that he created was something called a "Red Stone". They had named it after the stone that was found by a man at the founding of Amestris. Marcoh had studied these notes and reports intensely and had determined a certain way to make them work for us. _

_These "Red Stones" were exceedingly powerful, but broke after too much energy was used. If the military wanted to continue using these they'd have to make more of them. _

_So we used these to enhance our alchemical powers – I used them – to destroy the Ishvalan society and people. We obliterated so much of their culture and religion with these stones. Kimblee was one of the worst though. He created bombs that killed more people than should have been humanly possible and enjoyed it – he even started killing Amestrian soldiers… he's locked up now, though. _

_The horrifying thing, though, is that to reproduce these stones without the ancient material needed, the price was human lives. They used prisoners who were to be executed and occasionally used prisoners with life sentences as well. _

Ed was staring at him, horrified. "You used the stones even though you knew they were made out of human lives?"

"I didn't know they were made of human lives until well after the fact. If I had known I wouldn't have used them. But there's something I'm going to require of you if you want to go visit that cave."

"A bribe?" Ed offered.

Roy smirked, "Yes, a bribe of sorts."

"What is it then?"

"I'm going to come with you when you go."

Ed fussed for a few minutes before he relented. "But if you come you're going to have to help me seal up this cave – not temporarily, like my father – but permanently. I don't want another war to be started over them or for them to be used in a war."

"Agreed."

Ed breathed out a sigh of relief and relaxed into the blanket further. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow," Ed told him, "No arguments."

"No arguments." Roy agreed.

The trek back to the desert seemed to take longer to Ed. He grumbled as the three of the sat down in the dining car.

"You didn't perhaps bring the translation of the stone with you, did you?"

"And what if I did?"

Ed knew he was being difficult, but he knew that if he handed over the translation that Mustang would try and find fault in it – not that he _cared -_ but he hated the man's know-it-all attitude.

If the man wasn't his commanding officer, if they were equals, he could have been good friends with the man. _I really could have_, he thought wryly to himself. If only he weren't such a jerk, such a…bastard!

He realized a moment later that the man had said something and he hadn't been paying attention.

And _there! _There was that smug smirk! The smirk that said 'I know you weren't listening, and I'm not going to repeat myself because I love watching you flounder'.

Ed glared at him a moment and sniffed with disdain. "Not like you'll be able to read my notes anyways, they're in code. And I'd like to see _you_ translate that."

Mustang smiled, a predatory smile, "Oh?"

Ed grinned at him smugly.

"Is that a challenge Fullmetal?"

Edward began immediately backtracking. He remembered the last time he'd challenged Mustang and that had been a humiliating defeat that he didn't want to repeat.

The grin was larger this time.

"No! It's not! I'm stating the simple truth!"

"Don't get your hackles up, Fullmetal, I'm teasing you. Anyways, I would like to see the translation just because I might be able to add something you may have missed."

"He's right you know, Brother. He _does_ have more experience than us…"

Ed sighed, "Fine, I'll give you the notes, but you better not write on them! Take your own notes!"

"Do you have the original text too?"

"Of course!"

"I'll need that too."

"Are you going to do your own translation?"

"Yes, in Xingian. I'm curious to see if there's any relation there."

Ed stared at him wide-eyed. "Why do you care about that?"

"Because there's a legend in Xing about a Philosopher from the West, just like there was a legend of one from the East here. I'm betting you that the Xingian's have copies of writing like this that are already translated.

"How?"

"Because wanderers wander, and some form of the writing is always left behind. It'd make sense if they were near Xing. They may not be the same peoples, but it may help to make sense of the stuff you _couldn't_ translate or understand."

Ed flushed.

"I'm not saying that you couldn't have translated it, I'm saying you didn't have the knowledge or the access to the materials. But I do, so I can fill in your blanks." He tapped the table with his finger. "Is that okay, or do you want to leave part of that tablet without a translation?"

Scowling, Ed nodded. "Fine, translate the rest of it if you want. But I got the information I need already. The rest of it is probably just junk. Unimportant junk."

Roy smiled a bit wryly. Of course Ed considered it junk if it had no relation to what his current project was. And it probably was something that as irrelevant to the majority of society. But for historians it probably provided interest. He had no doubt that it had something to do with their culture or religion. But just in case, he'd translate it.

Their dinner came and whatever Ed and Al had been arguing about ended as Ed dug into his food, inhaling it. Al watched without sympathy as his brother choked on a large bite.

"I'm always telling you to chew your food, Brother. It's your own fault, so don't give me that look. Actually, don't ask me for help, especially after you don't listen to my advice."

Ed shoved a bit more food into his mouth and made sure Al could see he was chewing.

Al rolled his eyes. "Sometimes you're so immature brother."

Ed gave up on winning the argument and went back to devouring his food.

Back in their cabin – Roy had outright refused to sleep on train benches – Ed pulled his suitcase out from beneath the bed. After undoing the clasps he pulled out several sheets of paper and handed them over.

Roy took the papers and spread them on the desk in the corner of the room.

Ed watched him warily from the edge of the bed, shrugged and turned to Al. "I'm going to get some air, I'll be back in a little bit."

"I'll be here Brother."

Al watched as his brother left the room before turning to the Colonel.

"Sir…I was wondering your true intentions for coming with us."

Mustang put down his pen and turned to face Al. "What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"Your true intentions, sir, you never really gave any. You gave an ultimatum and even agreed with Brother's demands. You never do that."

"Alphonse, can't I simply be curious."

"That could be one reason, but I think it's rather more than that."

Roy's mouth twitched at the corners. "You're very perceptive."

Alphonse's helmet tilted to the side. "I'm glad you think so, but trying to distract me isn't going to work. Sir."

Roy lifted his hands and spread them, "I'll tell you, but if you tell Fullmetal, he'll probably try and chop me into little pieces."

"I won't tell Brother."

Roy shifted his weight and sighed. "Not that you don't do a good job of watching over him – you do – I just wanted to be there to make sure he doesn't do something _exceedingly _stupid."

"You're watching over him."

"Yes."

The armor seemed to shake a little. Al was laughing, Roy realized.

"Sir, thank you for…everything, but we really don't want Brother to know about that."

"Don't want me to know about what?" Ed asked from the doorway.

Roy delightedly put in, "That you're probably not going to grow anymore."

Steam seemed to pour from Ed's ears. Roy let his smug smile broaden.

Ed's screech could have shaken the whole train "….not SHORT!"

As midnight approached, and the cabin began to grow quiet, Ed finally turned to the problem he'd been wondering about all day.

"So…sleeping arrangements. I'll take some blankets and sleep on the floor and you can have the bed. Oh, and I want a pillow too."

"You could do that," Mustang agreed, "Or you could just share the bed with me. We're both men, and I'm sure you've slept in the same bed as your brother before."

"That's different!"

"Really, Fullmetal, you can sleep on the floor if you like, just don't complain about your back hurting afterwards."

Ed sneered. "I won't complain about anything!" He snatched up the extra blankets from the closet and spread them on the carpeted –albeit slightly hard – train car floor.

When he was settled, he noticed the look his brother was directing at him, _Don't be so stubborn, he's here to help us, and it's not like he'd _do_ anything to you, he likes women, remember? _

Ed felt his cheeks heat and buried his face into the pillow trying to stifle his embarrassment. He'd never noticed things like that before – why was he noticing them now all of a sudden?

Probably due to the man even remotely suggesting they share the same bed, and knowing the man there _had_ been sexual undertones and he'd just missed them because he'd been so focused on saying that he refused to sleep in the same bed as the other man.

_I could kill myself for being so stupid_, he thought. _I should have just accepted his offer and slept in the bed with him! It wouldn't have done me any harm and I wouldn't have a sore back in the morning. Maybe he'll let me into the bed still…no, I have to prove that I can handle sleeping on the floor, but tomorrow night I will certainly sleep in the bed too! I don't think I could handle having to sleep on the floor multiple nights in a row. _

He squirmed beneath the blankets for a moment as he tried to settle himself more comfortably before giving up and lying on his back, staring at the ceiling.

_Al's right, I am stubborn, stubborn and stupid, and I know it. I think myself a genius but sometimes I forget _he_ is a genius in other ways too. He manipulates people and they don't even realize it. I bet he's manipulating me right now! I know he has in the past…but why am I so obsessed. I'm getting my ends and he's getting his. Okay, so, sometimes I go overboard and he gets reprimanded and then he yells at me, but he never really _does_ anything. He lets me off pretty easy – NO – I have to stop thinking like this! _

Ed could hear the even breathing of the man in the bed and he let his eyes drift close. _Well, I'll at least try and get some sleep. _

Morning was far too bright for Edward's taste. He pulled the pillow from beneath his head, thinking to cover his face, but ended up whacking his head against the floor.

He swore softly and sat up, realizing that he was alone in the room. Mustang was probably already eating or something, he thought, and stumbled to his feet, a bit bleary due to the crust in his eyes.

Once he was somewhat presentable he made his way to the dining car where he located Mustang and his brother – the traitor! – and sat down in one of the open seats.

"Someone could have woken me up!"

"I told the Colonel to let you sleep, you were restless last night, tossing and turning. The floor couldn't have been all that comfortable," Al remarked slyly.

"Be quiet!" Ed snapped as he munched down on a piece of bacon. "I slept perfectly fine, the floor may have been hard, but I'm fine, see!"

Ed knew he was lying. His back _ached_ he could feel it in his tail bone. He could also use a few hours more of sleep to get rid of the pain that was radiating throughout him.

"You still look tired, why don't you nap in the bed for a bit while I work, Fullmetal?"

Edward grumbled but realized he didn't have much of a choice here; he could admit his back hurt or take Mustang's excuse and nap where he could get some really good rest.

"Yeah, I think I'll nap for a bit. I'm still tired."

"That's fine. Sleep well, Fullmetal."

Ed shoved the last bite of eggs into his mouth and stood. "I'll be back in the room, _sleeping_ so don't wake me up unless it's important."

Al waved him off with a large hand and continued the conversation he and Mustang had been having before Ed had interrupted.

"So…" Alphonse began, "You don't have any other designs on my brother other than the one you gave me yesterday."

Roy's eyes narrowed. "I've already told you the truth Alphonse. I watch over you two, make sure you don't encounter any problems."

Al watched him go and thought, _It's not just protecting me _and_ him, it's protecting him AND something else. And I think I know what that is. _

Roy worked over the translations, the Elric brothers were precise as ever, making notes about this and that which made the effort easier for him. But as he continued on, he realized the boys _had_ skipped certain things they couldn't understand, things that he had seen before in Xing, in certain translations. He knew he didn't remember it all, but at least he could translate some of it. Hohenheim had pretty much told them the story already, but having actual, physical proof, well, that was another thing entirely. He sincerely hoped that it had been a good idea to take this leave and this wasn't just some other random thing that ended up nowhere.

As he made another note, he heard the shift of the bed and turned to look at the young man sleeping in it. He had shed everything but his boxers and as he shifted onto his side the comforter slid down exposing a shoulder. Even with the little bit of heating the train had, it was still freezing, so Roy stood and tugged the covers back up over Edward's shoulder.

"Stupid brat, you should have just slept in the bed last night…really, sometimes I don't understand you."

A golden eye opened and closed. "What are you doing, pervert?"

"I'm making sure you don't freeze to death as I'm guessing you're not entirely clothed beneath those blankets."

He was surprised to see the blush heat Edward's face but decided that teasing the boy would be cruel.

"So? It's more comfortable this way."

"Whatever you like."

Ed turned over and presented his back to Mustang. "We better hurry and get there, I'm getting entirely too bored on this train ride."

"You have never been patient."

There was a cheerful, "Nope," from the young man. "Never will be."

"You will learn soon enough that sometimes patience is worth the end product."

"Perverted bastard," Edward muttered and went back to sleep.

Roy shook his head and returned to the translation.

Through all of this Al listened silently in the doorway wondering – actually he was pretty sure – what the Colonel's motives were. A voice in the back of his head spoke up, _he wants to use brother to further his career _but there was another voice that spoke as well _he wants to sleep with brother. _It couldn't be, could it? He'd thought of the idea once or twice before but never really thought anything of it, _it wasn't possible - was it? But…but…_

Ed backtracked a few feet and starred at the map again frustrated. They'd gotten off the train two days ago but so far they hadn't been able to find the cave and it was starting to make him nervous.

He glared at the map as if intimidating it would make it give him the answers he sought.

"Give me that!" Mustang finally snapped and grabbed the map from Edward's hands, looked at it, sighed and pointed a little ways to their left. "We go that way."

Ed and Al followed after Mustang slowly as they plodded across the desert and right where Mustang had pointed there was a small grouping of caves. Caves in the sense they were embedded in rock, but they small in size so that Al would barely be able to squeeze through the entrance.

Ed ducked in first closely followed by Al then Mustang. Once they were in the chamber widened a bit before there was a small passageway off to the side, the entrance to the main section of the cave Ed assumed.

But what he saw when he entered made him catch his breath. "Oh, _fuck_."

He heard his two companions duck in and then Mustang's intake of breath and the creaking of Al's armor fists.

"_No way…_"

Ed felt faint, just staring at the walls made him want to sink to his knees and pray for salvation. Pray that he wasn't just imagining things. Pray to the heavens, thank them for this gift. He planted his hands in the dirt as he knelt down and felt the prickling of tears in his eyes, he managed to hold them back – just barely- and smiled.

"We've done it."

Embedded in the walls were glowing, sparkling _red stones_. Thousands of them all beautiful and there for the taking.

He felt Al come up behind him, but before he could move Al was crushing him in a massive embrace and murmuring, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou."

After Al finally put him down, Ed began _really _surveying the room. As he glanced towards to the back (or the front depending on how you looked at it), there was a massive temple. It was beautifully designed, elegant and flowing. It was made of marble, with beautiful ionic columns that were slender at the top and widened towards the bottom into a detailed base. The frieze's were depictions of a grand style, showing all sorts of scenes, heroes, warriors and the like. As Ed looked closely he could tell it had once been painted in extravagant colors that would have been exceedingly bright and perhaps a bit gaudy.

Surrounding the temple there was a maze much like the one they had found before. This one too had flowers that were in full bloom. Flowers that seemed mystical in origin because they seemed far too beautiful to simply have been growing there.

Carefully, Ed stepped through the maze and into the porches of the temple. Through the columns he could see the walls of the interior temple, and looking a bit farther to his right he could see an opening.

When he was through the opening he was surprised at how much "light" filtered in. Hanging above him were lamps – was that what they were? – they were glowing softly, but the top also had open spaces that let light in. Through those spaces he could see patches of sky! He was shocked. How could you not notice that from the outside? But again, the desert was a big space, so it was possible that you could easily miss it, especially if alchemy disguised it…

Ed contemplated that for a moment before he stared down the long rectangular room. At the one end there was a small alter – a simple marble thing. Ed stared at it long and hard and he noticed it too was painted red – but not the red of paint. The red of blood. Chills ran up and down his spine. _Human sacrifice. _

Looking down at the floor he noticed that there were faint outlines of…was that a transmutation circle? As he looked more closely, yes, yes, it was. A gigantic one that seemed to encompass the whole temple.

Why would something need to be so large? Certainly not from building the alter or the columns, you wouldn't need one that big. He paced around the circle slowly. It was hard to make out what it once had been. He'd have to be careful lest he activate it accidentally.

What would it have been for? It would have to have been used for _something _down here, but what was large enough to need it? The cave itself?

He blinked.

_That's it! _

"This circle was part of a bigger one, one used to put all those stones in the wall," he said excitedly. "Dad was here, this was part of his story! It's how they put the stones in the wall!"

Ed was waving his hands about in excitement. "Which means…calculations…do this…then activate that…remove…no, no…necessary…"

He mumbled some more things, before he finally sighed and headed towards the alter, letting the Bastard and Al follow him.

Embedded in the alter were some more red stones and he smiled smugly. "I can restore our bodies without even taking them out of the wall…Al! We can do this now! You can have your body back today!"

Ed felt giddy as he took a step back from the alter. "I'll draw out the circle now and I can be done with it soon, then all we have to do is step into the circle and activate it!"

"Hold on Fullmetal. There's no need to rush directly into –"

Ed's glare stopped Mustang dead and he held up his hands. "Just don't expect me to save your ass if you get hurt again. I won't be able to explain human transmutation away again. Anyways, what are you going to tell everyone once you get back?"

Ed glanced at him. "Due to being caught in an old transmutation and unable to deactivate it, my limbs were restored. I did further research and found it not to be alchemy but an ancient magic that no longer exists. The "transmutation" was left over energy."

Mustang nodded. "Acceptable. I'll back you up on that."

Ed pushed Al and the Colonel to the side claiming he had to work. He began the long work of creating the circle, but he was barely through it before he claimed "I'm too tired to finish this…Al…I think I need to finish it tomorrow."

"It's fine, Brother," Al hurried to reassure him. "Just finish it tomorrow and get some rest first."

Ed was up with the dawn, and already working on the array when Mustang stirred from sleep.

"What exactly is this array going to do?"

"Nothing much, we're not even going to see _that_, Al! It'll bypass everything. It's just going to draw the energy and our limbs from where they are and reconnect them to our souls."

Ed painstakingly redrew the whole transmutation circle, erasing the lines from the old one so they didn't intersect with the new, and when that was done, he added in the needed glyphs before sitting back.

"There," he murmured. "It's all done."

Excitement flooded his body and fuelled him to his feet. "Al!" He turned with a grin, "Come step in here with me."

Al's armor seemed to be trembling, in worry or excitement; Roy didn't know nor did he have time to speculate because suddenly there was a blinding alchemical reaction.

At first he thought the room had just turned white due to the brightness, but as he heard Edward's moan of dismay he realized something had just gone horribly, terribly wrong.

Ed felt himself moan when he saw the whiteness, his horror being drawn to the surface. He had been _sure _to bypass that. Had been sure to erase all –

He paused. And thought back to his array and as he made a circle he swore. He'd forgotten to erase part of the old array! So they had mingled and activated each other which meant that part hadn't been for the stones, but had been a human transmutation array…which changed _everything_. Luckily, he thought, there were enough red stones to cover at least ten peoples passage through.

He finally opened his eyes to see that both Al (human!) and Mustang (the fuck?) were there. Mustang was staring at the Truth with curiosity.

"Don't ask it anything, Mustang. I'm guessing you saw…everything."

He nodded tightly.

"Well, well, Edward Elric. Back again are you? How are you going to pay this time?"

"This time I'm using the red stones energy! I won't owe you anything!"

The Truth let it's mouth curve into a smile. "I suppose that's true. You'll use the red stones for him too?"

Ed knew who he was referring to. "Yes."

"Very well, since I've got no leverage I'll send them back before you."

"Before me?"

The Truth smiled ambiguously and waved his hand. "Alphonse, you go through the door on the right, Mustang, go through the one on the left."

As they moved away, Ed could feel their reluctance. "I'll be fine, I'll see you on the other side."

When their doors closed behind them, Truth turned to Edward. "This information is mostly just for my entertainment, so it's 'free' but the price is more energy from the stones."

Ed didn't even try to understand how that was 'free' then.

"There are many futures, many different ways to look at the same thing, and many different things that can be looked at the same way. That is what the red string of fate can be. It is connected to people. It can be cut. It is the past. It is the present. It is the future. It is what you make of it. There are people you are close to that it's connected to. Don't forget, you can only patch what is torn, never will it be whole again…"

Ed found himself staring at his door, and with energy he thought he'd lost, he shoved it open and tumbled back into the world.

Ed took gasping breaths as he opened his eyes, startled to find the noon sky up. Half a day had passed. They had lost half a day. He hadn't remembered losing this much time before…he turned onto his side and felt the tears well up in his eyes.

And for the first time in years he cried, cried loudly and without embarrassment as he stared at his human little brother. He scrubbed at his eyes but the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"Brother," Al said with some embarrassment.

"Sorry!" Ed nearly wailed. "I can't stop crying, I'm crying tears of joy…I think."

Al laughed a wet laugh, and Ed could see the tears on his cheeks too. He grasped Al's hand and squeezed. "I'm so happy, so happy, so very happy."

"I know," Al whispered and held his brother close, touching him, feeling him, for the first time in about five years.

Roy watched with a small smile on his face until the Elric brother's finished their tearful reunion and headed up to the surface.

"We have to seal this up for good this time…" Ed told them once they were on the surface.

And a few hours later, it was sealed for eternity. Ed stared sadly at the entrance and placed his fingers on the rock. "There was so much history, so much _beauty_, I would have loved to study it…"

And so, with that, they returned to Central.

At Central, Edward was horrified to hear that the library containing what was considered "regular texts" was burnt down. He was however thankful that the rarer texts were safe in an underground chamber that wouldn't be burnt down so easily.

He muttered angrily as he stomped down the steps to the underground chamber. He needed to research this "red string of fate", he didn't like what it sounded like, not one bit.

With a vicariousness that only he could attain, Ed dug into the books. He dragged every book that had to do with the future, the past or anything that looked like it might have something to do with fate off the shelves. And when that failed to bring anything up, he went back and noted references that might lead to a clue. And when he looked through _those_, he simply began pulling books off the shelf and reading them.

Four days later, Al retrieved him from the library claiming that, "Brother, it's your birthday. Let's celebrate."

Ed agreed and gave up hope (for the moment) of finding the red string of fate in the library.

The birthday party was joyous. Gracia had make a cake and Elysia had helped. Ed had hugged her tightly in thanks and when he tasted it, hugged her again. She had smiled and smoothed his hair back from his face. "I'm glad. It's not every day you turn seventeen."

Hughes had smiled and ruffled his hair. Mustang had laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed before shoving some documentation into his hand. "As much as I'd like to keep you…"

And Ed had flushed bright red, the Bastard had laughed and with another pat to his shoulder, left to talk with Hawkeye.

Military papers? He asked himself. Why was the man giving him military papers?

Across the room, Hawkeye and Mustang watched as pure delight spread across Edward's face.

"Are those…?" Hawkeye asked.

"Mmm." The Colonel agreed. "They're official discharge papers for February."

"That's a nice birthday present."

Roy laughed. "Yes, it is."

Ed opened a card from his brother,

_January 8, 1916_

_Brother,_

_Happy 17__th__ Birthday! I know this isn't much, but you said you were happiest that I was back to human, you called it the greatest gift. I think you're right that it's a great gift, but I think there's still a greater gift waiting for you: love. When you find the person you truly love, you'll know it. I hope you'll find that love because you deserve it. You're such a good person, and I'm happy that our trials gave us a stronger bond. _

_I love you, _

_Alphonse_

Ed clung to his brother in a tight hug. Al hugged him back with amusement.

That night the light along with happiness overflowed from the Hughes's house and onto the street, so much so people who were walking by stopped to watch from afar.

Ed squirmed in his bed, sighing in contentment. Today was the beginning of the second month at his new job. A civilian consultant. After negotiating with the military they'd finally reached a decision. He'd do work for them and his expenses would be covered, but he'd also be paid a changing sum depending on the job. If he got injured he'd be reimbursed. But the injuries couldn't be intentional. After all the negotiating and rewriting of the contract, he finally signed it.

But being a civilian consultant was only part time. The rest of the time he was a historian. He would study the past. And that was the last condition to the contract: if he was in a place that he wanted to study the history, he would call back and inform them of such. He would then complete the mission and send on a report. The funds from the mission would then be deposited in his account. _However_, he'd have to get his own transportation back. Ed thought it was a pretty good deal.

But today he had off. He yawned and stretched in the bed, settling onto his side and staring out the window. He and Al had decided to rent an apartment with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a small sitting area. It was just enough for the two of them. And they were happy. Al had decided that he wanted to study different subjects, like math and chemistry and in his spare time was taking them at the local university.

In the kitchen he could hear the rumble of his brother's footsteps as he moved about making breakfast. He hid a grin in his covers before shoving them off and standing up.

Ed moved through his daily routine and then headed for the door. "Gotta drop off my report to the Bastard at his house tonight, so I'll probably be home late."

Al waved him off. "Have a good day!"

March was still chilly and so Ed pulled his coat closed as he wandered down the streets of Central towards his office. Once he was safely inside, he settled down and continued cataloguing his recent discoveries.

He broke for lunch and then when dinner rolled around he shut off the lights and headed out into the sunset that was setting over Central. He breathed in the crisp air and felt the breeze curl around him. He turned and headed towards Mustangs house.

Ed shivered as Mustang took his coat from him. "It's absolutely freezing outside. Do you have a fire going?"

"It's March," Mustang remarked dryly, "So no. But I can get you more blankets if you'd like."

Ed gave him a smile. "I'd be thankful if you did that. My arm and leg sometimes still ache…"

Once he was swaddled in the blankets, he nodded to the folder on the table. "There's the report. Not that it was really necessary. But it was a problem easily fixed so…"

"You completed it faster than anyone else would have been able to."

Ed gave him another smile, and sometimes that still surprised him, how easily smiles came to him now. Although he and Mustang were still antagonistic towards each other, there was an easy underlying friendship between them. And something else. Ed let his eyes flicker to the window where darkness had already set in.

When Roy approached him from the kitchen with refilled coffee mugs and set them on the table, he thought nothing of it. When the man approached him, he didn't react.

The kiss was gentle at first, just a soft meeting of lips, but it turned into something more heated when Roy ran his tongue along Ed's lower lip and enticed his tongue to dance. Ed felt himself sliding from the blankets so he could press himself closer to the man's warmth.

There were no fireworks or wedding bells, there was warmth and kindness in the kiss and the man's hands as he stroked down Edward's back and under his shirt.

He gentled the kiss before pulling away and leaving Ed still slightly stunned. He pressed this advantage and got Ed's shirt off; he brushed one of his fingers against Ed's nipple and nearly grinned when he saw Ed jerk with surprise. He placed a lick against Ed's throat before giving it a light nip.

"Edward…"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to continue?"

"Mmmm."

Ed reached up, and planted his hands on either side of the man's face and kissed him. "Yes I want to continue."

He plucked at the buttons on the man's shirt and grinned. "I'm not ashamed or shy you know. I'm not weak either."

"I know all of that. And before we go into, but we're men! Our ages! We know all that. We know what we're doing. No regrets."

"Deal." Ed whispered and kissed him again.

Roy used his height (and now strength) advantage to coerce Ed upstairs and into the bed.

They tumbled down in a tangle of limbs and pillows. Ed was laughing gleefully as he pelted Roy with one.

Roy pretending to be mature didn't hit Ed back with one though he did grab Ed's hair to tug him into a kiss. Ed gladly gave up the pillow fight and clung to Roy's shoulders and kissed him back just as fiercely.

This tussle ended up with both of them losing their clothing and Ed on his back watching Roy from beneath his hair that trailed across his face.

Roy stroked the hair back from his face. Ed gave him a little smile.

And then Ed arched up in shock. "Bastard!"

Roy grinned with delight. "Think of it as payback."

He moved his finger a bit and Ed made an irritated sound that turned into a half moan.

Roy kissed Ed slowly, letting his tongue trace down Ed's throat and to his belly.

What had at first been fast and frantic turned slow. Roy pushed a second finger in and Ed couldn't help but give a tiny sigh. He let his legs shift further apart and Roy rose to his knees and stared down at Edward.

Ed clutched the sheets as the man withdrew his fingers. He saw the lube container and saw Roy slick his fingers again and reinsert them before he lost his mind to the sheer pleasure of just feeling. And when it felt like he would _finally, finally _get his release after all the maddening torture, Roy moved away.

_Away_.

"Bastard!" Ed hissed.

Roy shot him an amused look. Then he moved. And Ed wanted _more_. Ed hadn't thought that sex was all that interesting or pleasurable. But now he was quickly rethinking that. If it was like this every time he didn't think he'd really want to do anything else for the rest of his life.

Roy must have read his mind because he shifted and Ed had a whole lot more to think about. He let his arms curl around the man's shoulders to hold him still.

Groaning, Roy pressed kisses against Ed's mouth and throat. But when he reach the side of Ed's neck, he gave into temptation and bit down on the sensitive skin.

He felt Ed's yelp of surprise and let go. He left a few more kisses on Ed's collarbone and shoulders before returning to Ed's mouth.

Ed gave him a viscous glare and bit Roy's lip.

_Little monster_, Roy thought laughingly. _He certainly likes his vengeance. But, seeing him like this, so willing to give into my passions, I can certainly forgive him. _

Roy, truthfully, had not expected to be allowed this. This warmth and passion that came with being connected in the most intimate of ways. Once upon a time he might have said fucking, and sure, that's what they were doing. But this wasn't casual. Ed wasn't somebody who'd be a one night stand _or_ a stand-in. Ed was somebody whose friendship and trust would last an eternity if he gave it to you. And Ed, apparently, had given him both.

Without thinking he gathered Ed to him and whispered, "Thank you."

Ed looked embarrassed for a moment before he pressed himself closer. "I should be thanking you."

_I'm becoming sappy in my old age_, they both thought.

Ed could feel the rush of pleasure filling his body, could feel sweat collecting in the base of his throat, at the edges of his ears, on his neck, or maybe that was saliva from where the Bastard had been drooling on him.

Letting Mustang fuck him had never been his intention but…it was exhilarating. The feeling of each thrust that made him want to writhe, made him want it to go on forever or to just end. He sobbed out a curse. "_Fuck_."

Roy dragged Ed over the edge with a sharp thrust and followed himself not long after.

Panting, Ed gave Roy an irritated look and propped himself on an arm. "I want painkillers. I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow." He wriggled his fingers. "Hop to it. I don't have all night."

Roy stared at the young man and saw the amusement sparkling in gold eyes.

"Brat."

"Bastard."

Roy tugged on a lock of hair and Ed ducked his head. "Please?"

Roy's eyebrow rose and Ed added a scowl. "That better?"

Roy shook his head and stood. "Edward Elric, you'll always be the most unique person I'll ever know."

Ed leaned back. "I rather like that."

It was two months before Ed and Roy saw each other. Throughout March, April and May after that first time, things were strained between them. Roy was career focused so he spent much of his time in the office and Ed had severe wanderlust that caused him to leave at a moment's notice. Between those two things they rarely got to see each other.

_The April sun was warm on his back, and Ed wriggled happily in the hotel bed. He loved this town. There were so many great things going on. There was so many good foods to eat. He didn't quite feel like leaving. Plus, there were interesting ruins to study, and he couldn't wait to get back so he could translate them in his free time. He kicked at the covers and rolled over. At the same time he didn't want to go back to Central. And it was all _his_ fault. _

_Roy leaned on the doorway. "I _am_ sorry Ed, but I don't have the time right now. I have office work to do, I'm busy. I'll be free soon." _

_Maybe Ed shouldn't have lost his temper but he did, "You're _always_ busy. We've barely spent any time together, we've barely talked!" _

"_Edward. You knew this was just…well. Anyways. I'll see you later, but I have to return to the office." _

_So, here he was in this faraway town sulking because his lover – fling more like it – had practically told him he was less important that his career. And here, when they'd had sex that first time he'd thought that Roy _wanted_ him, wanted a relationship with him. He should have known better. _

_Roy scowled down at his paper. Why did Edward have to make it so hard? He was always running off whenever he felt like it, and he only found out the young man had left when he received a call from Ed _after_ he was at the chosen destination. Then Ed complained that Roy spent no time with him…_but whenever I try he's always off gallivanting through the country!_ Roy though sourly. _

"_It's always, 'office this', 'office that', 'this paperwork', 'that paperwork'. Why don't you stop for a break sometimes? Work isn't everything." _

"_Traveling isn't everything." _

"_Central gets boring. There's no _old_ history here. Yes, yes, I know, but I've already studied the older history here. I need something new."_

"_You're not a child anymore; you can't simply run off anywhere you like anymore."_

_Ed moved on from that town pretty quickly and the next town he found was _much_ more interesting. These ruins related back to after Xerxes but before modern Amestris. There were so many things to learn about the culture – and he couldn't wait to dive in! These ruins were very important for research. He'd have to catalogue them all for starters…For a moment he thought he missed the Bastard. And to think, it was only May._

_Roy leaned his chin on his hand and signed another piece of paperwork. He put his edits to another paper in the margin and happened to glance at the next file. _Alchemic Disturbances_. Ah, Ed's last mission. He let his fingers tighten on the folder in anger. You'd rather be out playing with alchemy and ruins than here, enjoying evenings with me. He flipped the folder open and skimmed it. Problem solved, and what should have taken another alchemist to do until June, Ed had solved it in the same month he'd gotten it. May, what a depressing month._

"_I'm so _glad_, you have faith in me." Ed said sarcastically. _

_Roy's mouth tightened. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going back to the office and you're free to take your next assignment." _

_Two doors slammed – the front behind Roy and the back behind Ed. _

And so, it was June and the sun was sticky and hot when Roy finally left his office that Thursday afternoon, and it was that same Thursday afternoon Ed was sitting on the steps to Roy's house.

"Hey," Ed said.

"Edward," Roy replied without emotion.

"Can I come in? I think we need to talk."

"I agree. Be careful not to drag mud in."

Ed sat on the sofa in silence as Roy returned. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Roy sighed. "Ed…between the two of this, a relationship will always be hard. You'll always desire to travel and I have goals I want to attain."

Ed cast down his eyes.

"I do not have the freedom you do, I have to stay here, in an office, I have set hours, set times, patterns that need to be followed. My world is orderly compared to yours. You are chaotic."

"You're the only one who was ever able to keep me in one place…"

Roy smiles. "You can't be tethered. Ed, you're still young, you have an urge to wander. I know I wasn't exactly the best either…but let's start over. Let's try actually working on a relationship."

Ed brightened.

"However, there's something you must know because I will be _very busy_. War with one of the far west countries is imminent. It means I'm going to be working hard for a promotion."

"It's fine! I'm actually studying in the west so I can bring back intel…We'll make set dates we can see each other, and that way we won't break them unless it's dire…!"

"Yes…"

Edward could tell that the man wasn't confident that the idea would work.

In mid-June Ed was studying some ruins in the West that had caught his attention when Roy was promoted to Major-General after some _very _successful political maneuvers and retiring Generals. When Ed heard he rushed back to Roy and his arms. When they were safely inside the house Ed grinned, "Congratulations! Here's your present." He dumped a rock – "Ruin" Ed said scornfully – into Roy's palm. Engraved on it was a salamander that seemed to be morphing into a dragon.

_Ahhh_, Roy thought. _Clever, Ed, clever. _

Ed cocked his head and gave him a beautiful smile that made Roy's heart ache. And so, gathering Ed up into his arms, he made love to him in the noon sun.

Ed was grinning from ear to ear afterwards as he nestled against Roy's side. "_So_ worth coming back to Central."

Ed took the rumble in Roy's chest as a laugh and slept.

When he woke up, Roy was gone from bed but he could hear the man's voice from the study next door. He sounded serious.

Ed sat up and rubbed a hand through his hair as Roy whisked into the bedroom. "There's no doubt now. We're going to war. I need to go to the office, but I'll be back later tonight. If you can go grocery shopping that'd be much appreciated. Other than that, don't leave."

He kissed Ed. "Be good. I'll see you later."

Ed watched as he left. His heart had tightened painfully when Roy had said, 'We're going to war'. That meant Roy'd have to fight right?

He pulled his knees up to his chest. _I don't want him to fight, _Ed thought weakly.

_For now, I'll go grocery shopping and do as he asks until I know all the details. Maybe he won't have to fight…he _is_ a general after all._

Roy returned later that night as promised, and began to explain.

"Bradley's mobilizing for war, so we still have some time – what do you want to do?"

"I want no part of it. None, I don't like war…"

"I'll have to go West. Maybe not fight but…I do have a responsibility to my men. And as an alchemist I'll be needed."

Ed picked at his food. "I figured. But I also learned something today. I went back through some old family records I gathered and found out something interesting about my mother."

"Oh?" Roy asked and didn't comment on the change of conversation.

"My mother comes from a long line of female alchemists. But she gave all that up to marry my father. Sounds romantic doesn't it? It surprised me because I didn't think my mother knew alchemy…but I guess she did. She didn't practice anymore after marrying my father though…I wonder if she ever missed it."

"Maybe at first, but I have no doubt she loved you and your brother very much. You two probably gave her the greatest happiness she could have ever had. Children are like that."

"Do you want to have children?" Ed suddenly asked.

"Ed, I do hope you're aware neither of us can have children?"

"I know! But I want to know, do you want children?"

"Sometimes I wish…but my lifestyle doesn't account for children. Why? Do you want children?"

"I never really thought about it. But I guess my answer would be the same as yours. Sometimes I too wish we could have children…'cause I remember when was Al was little and I get all…smiley."

"Oh, Edward," Roy sighed and laughed then moved around the table so he could hold his young lover. "I don't little Alphonses – or yous – running around to have a family. Al and you are a part of my family."

Ed let Roy hold him as he trembled.

The war arrived more quickly than Ed had anticipated. As Roy was being sent out west, Ed decided he'd go along and study some ruins he hadn't gotten a good look at last time. After their arrival, they separated, Ed going deep into the desert to continue his studies, and Roy to the frontline.

_Ed,_

_Time passes so slowly over here. Every day feels like it's the last, I miss you terribly, and Havoc is merciless about teasing me. Please keep yourself in good health. I know what you're like when you get absorbed in something. Please don't forget to eat._

_Roy._

_Roy, _

_I'm not forgetting to eat…much. Time passes slowly here too. I think the desert screws with your perception of time. These ruins are the same as the ones we visited last year. Red and everything. Sparkly. These are about the same age too. Same design even. More later._

_Ed_

_Ed,_

_Please be careful. Remember what happened last time? I'd rather there not be a repeat performance…who knows if you'll get out unscathed this time. I'm losing soldiers so quickly…I think I need to redo my tactics. You're a genius maybe you'll see something I've missed…_

_Roy._

_Roy,_

_Bastard! Idiot! I may be a genius but I'm not a tactical genius like yourself. Yes, I remember. I'm being very careful. I'm skirting the edges and not drawing anything on it this time. So nothing like last time will happen. Found some new info. Most of the red ones are dead. So it's already been used. I'm guessing this one was the one from "that story". So the other was backup._

_Ed_

_Ed,_

_I'm glad your spelling has improved…good, nothing bad can happen if they're dead. Hmm..yes, I see what you mean. When you get more information, please update me. I'm going to be very busy for a little while. _

_Roy_

_Roy! _

_Dad lied! It was actually "that thing from my past" that he did! That's what the red things are! It's like what was in Al's armor that was in the stones too! That asshole! I'm so pissed! I could kill him! _

_Ed_

_Ed,_

_Calm down. Is it true, no, if you're saying it's true, then it is. Be careful as always._

_Roy_

_Roy,_

_What's with the short letter? One line? I'm feeling remarkably unloved over here…anyways. I found a pathway that led to the back caves. It was a tomb! A tomb for _my_ ancestors. It was kind of creepy…Gotta excavate more first._

_Ed._

_Edward,_

_I'm very busy so that's why it was so short…don't worry, I miss you terribly. Don't let rocks fall on you. I know your heads hard but…_

_Roy_

_Bastard!_

_Even I would get killed if rocks fell on my head! It's been a week since I've written last so…I managed to get to the back cave. It was guarded by some heavy alchemy, but I managed to get it undone. There was a library. Will continue research. Don't be useless._

_Ed_

_Brat,_

_I'm rarely useless. A library? How wonderful! Please enjoy your discovery! I know libraries make you happy. Find something useful._

_Roy_

_Roy,_

_I did find something useful. Alchemy was preserving the books. So, good! These people believed in reincarnation. What a nice idea…there is also the red string of fate mentioned. I was really excited when I saw that._

_Ed_

_Ed,_

_Please be clear, that last part made no sense. In any case, I think the war is starting to wrap up. Only another few weeks and we can return to Central. Does that make you happy? The idea you can see everyone again?_

_Roy_

_Roy,_

_Yes, I will be very happy to see everyone again. You-know-who mentioned the red string of fate and I finally learned the truth about it. People are connected to each other by a string. It's called the red string of fate. It ties you to other people. By making decisions or taking certain actions you can create a tie or sever one. I think you and I might be connected by one…_

_Ed_

_Ed_

_If we are, what does it mean for us? Ed, let's just stop writing. We'll see each other in three days. I'll help you seal it. _

_Roy_

"Bastard! I wanted the last word!"

Roy laughed as they left the ruins they had just sealed.

Ed decided to keep all the books – had them loaded up onto the train to Central – because he wanted to study them further.

Ed smiled up at Roy. "I missed you."

The kiss to his hair was gentle. "I missed you too."

They stood together barefoot in the sand beneath the moon for what seemed like a single moment.

Central seemed to be much quieter than it ever had been before, in the streets the women who'd lost their husbands wore black and went about their business quietly, and the women whose husbands had been spared rejoiced in the confines of their home. And so did Ed.

At this moment he had his arms about Roy's neck and was kissing him feverishly. Roy's own hands were sliding beneath Ed's shirt and pulling it off. Ed was trying to be extremely unhelpful because he wasn't raising his arms at all. With great care Roy pushed Ed's arms from around his neck and jerked the shirt off. Ed glared as he saw the slight tear. But moved back into Roy's arms and kissed him again.

He _liked_ kissing the man, he encouraged it in fact. Roy discarded his own shirt and the rest of Ed's clothes and Ed only had the moment to think, "Fuck, he's got the better of me again," before Roy bore him down onto the bed and began the seduction in earnest.

Roy was leaning up on one arm watching as Ed shifted on the bed under him. Ed's eyes were sleepy, lassitude leftover from their love making Roy thought. He took his hand and smoothed it over one of Ed's cheeks. Ed mumbled and fully closed his eyes, arching into the touch.

Roy laughed and leaned down and kissed him again if only to hear Ed's complaint.

They'd been back in Central for about two weeks and Ed had seemed impatient. Ed always wanted to move, to _do_, and being shut up in a house for two weeks was no way to treat him as such. Roy knew he only had a little time left before Ed's inevitable desire to travel took over and he left to go explore somewhere else and so Roy was determined to enjoy the time he had with his young lover.

Ed squirmed delightfully on the bed and Roy wanted him again.

Ed moved about the room quietly gathering his clothes up from the floor and examined the tear Roy had put in his shirt with exasperation. The man was always putting tears into his clothes when they did _this_. Not that he minded overly…he always enjoyed it after all.

He found one of his socks underneath the dresser and as he sat up, he banged the back of his head on the corner. When he finally uncurled himself from the pain he picked up several sheets of paper that had landed on the floor. He perused them and his eyebrows rose as he continued reading.

He'd had no idea Roy had asked for a transfer back to Eastern Command, but apparently he _had_ because these were the papers confirming his transfer. His stacked them neatly and left them on the dresser before he left the room. _Roy was leaving. Leaving. _Ed let his head bow for a moment before he pushed off the door and walked to the kitchen.

Roy heard him leave and sat up sighing. He had no doubt that Ed though he was being left behind. That's why Roy had hoped to get to Ed before he saw the papers or heard about it from one of his staff members. He shuffled the covers off, dressed and stepped forth into the kitchen.

He waited in the doorway as Ed moved about the room, making breakfast.

"You're leaving," he said quietly.

"Yes."

"You're leaving _me_."

"No, Ed, no, no, no. You're coming with me."

Ed looked up. "What?"

"Didn't you hear me? Ed, _I love you_. I want you to come _with _me. I want you to _live_ with me."

Ed's breath stopped, he could feel the pulse pounding in his throat as he swallowed. Roy was asking for _everything_ of him. His body, his heart, his soul, his _love_. And he'd give Roy all of them. Willingly.

Roy swept Ed into his arms and held him close. "How could you believe I'd leave you, Ed, you mean everything to me."

Ed pressed his nose into Roy's shoulder and rubbed in there. He clung to Roy desperately, unsure of what to say. "I love…you." He knew his voice was hesitant, but he pressed closer against Roy, hiding his face that was flushed red with embarrassment.

Roy pressed a kiss to his head, sighed, and stepped back. "I like this ability to get up late…but still if I'm not in the office in the next hour, Hawkeye will be severely pissed off."

Ed grinned a little and pulled the toast he'd stuck in the toaster out and buttered it. Roy pinched half of it and swallowed it.

"Now, Ed, hold still."

"Wha-aaaggghh!"

The office was buys packing in between working on the paperwork that was due _right now, you lazy idiots! _Roy watched with his usual impassive expression and tried not to let it be known that he was, in fact, panicking. There was so much left to do and not enough time to complete it all. He figured they could just ship the paperwork back after they moved in, but still, it'd be a hassle.

While Roy was being calm – pretending to be calm while actually panicking – Ed was planning and making selections. He figured what he was doing would make Roy happy; it'd make him happy too. So, he scrawled another line and another and another.

Hawkeye was watching her superior with some bemusement. She knew he was panicking – from the move – and from something else and she was pretty sure what that something else was. Edward, was as ever, an enigma to her for the most part. He was a little bit on the wild side still, but he seemed to make Roy happy and she thought that that should make her happy because when her commander was happy he was much more efficient. Not that he knew she knew. She'd known the moment they'd gone off to war. She'd seen him penning those short letters, had worried that it'd only bring harm to him, but, it seemed to give him comfort. And so, she observed from a distance.

She scrawled her signature on a piece of paper and put it into the pile for Mustang to sign, then moved on to the next piece of paper. As she skimmed each new proposal she wondered the man's intentions for moving back to the East. It's not like he had any family out there – so what was it that drew him back time and time again? Not that it mattered…she was just curious was all.

Havoc made faces as he filed away the papers. This time there was no girlfriend to leave behind; they hadn't been here long enough for that, what with the war taking up so much time and all. He shoved another paper into the file cabinet and turned to Breda who was working next to him. "What do you think of this sudden decision to move?"

"Nothing really, the Chief is the Chief. There's probably some reason behind it. He doesn't do things like this for nothing."

"Hmm." Havoc agreed idly.

Fuery stood stacking the files so Falman could transport them to Havoc and Breda. "Falman," he asked slowly, "Why're we moving?"

Falman looked up slowly. "Why?" he paused. "I think you'd be better off asking the Major-General that."

Fuery grimaced. "He's been doing that I'm-not-here tactic today."

Falman looked towards the door and wondered.

Roy knew his team was curious as to why he was moving, and he felt bad for not telling them, but he didn't think that it'd be such a great idea.

Al had recently moved back to Risembool and he knew Ed missed his brother so he figured if they were at Eastern Command then they would be closer to each other. It would be easier for them to visit each other too. Not only that the climate here in Central was changing. He didn't want Edward caught up in the mess that was surely to come. They'd want to use him, conscript him back into the army and Roy didn't want that. Ed was so happy with how his life was at the moment. He also didn't want his command caught up either. He didn't particularly feel like battling a host of Generals. So, he'd made the decision to return to the East and hope that it'd be quieter over there.

It was like Eastern command had never changed. The climate, although warmer than Central, still got cold in the winter months. December had fallen upon them and it didn't seem like the snow would let up anytime soon.

Ed was ensconced in a heavy blanket as he lay on the couch in the living room reading. Roy had said he was getting back late since today was the first day back in the East. Ed hadn't really unpacked anything either. All they'd done was move the downstairs furniture into place.

Plus, he had a surprise tonight for Roy. And it was connected to the house. He hoped Roy didn't mind _too _much.

When he heard the door open and close he leapt off the couch and slammed into Roy and kissed him. "I've got something to show you!" and he tugged Roy down the hall, through the kitchen, through another hallway and stopped at a door Roy was sure hadn't been there this morning.

Ed grinned at him and pushed the door open. What Roy saw was beyond stunning. It was a large library and from the titles he could see they were some of the rarest books in existence. Besides that there were reference books, language books and all the other books they'd ever owned.

"It's so that I don't have to leave your side. I thought it'd make a good Christmas present, and I know it's kind of early but there really was no way to hide it –"

"It's wonderful Edward," he said softly and Ed beamed.

He shut the door and moved to the kitchen. "Let's say we unpack now though, otherwise we can't feed you."

"I like that idea!"

The warmth of the happiness that encircled them made Ed smile.

Once Al and the Rockbell's were safely away in the guest rooms Ed latched onto Roy as tightly as a leech. "Miss me that much did you?"

"What do _you_ think?" Ed said laughing. "I'm just happy to be here with you. It's been a long time since we've actually celebrated Christmas together. It'll be nice."

"Yes, yes it will."

He kissed Ed gently. "I've got some paperwork to finish, so why don't you go on up to bed and I'll join you later."

Ed made a face. "Paperwork at this time of year? I thought you had some days off."

"I do, but it's still necessary to do paperwork so we can keep the military functioning."

Ed smiled and untangled himself. "I'll be waiting for you upstairs. We've got a lot of cooking to do tomorrow since its Christmas day."

"You're cooking?"

Ed socked him in the shoulder.

Roy laughed and kissed him again. "Don't think I'll ever get tired of doing _that_."

"I hope not," Ed replied smugly.

Ed's smugness lasted all the way to midmorning the next day when Winry promptly told him that he wasn't allowed to eat _anything _until that night's dinner.

They'd had a nice morning of exchanging gifts and talking about fond memories and Winry had to go and ruin it with that announcement. She looked at Ed apologetically. "Sorry, but you know the rules." The rules being they were only allowed to snack on small things during the day. The dinner was always huge so if they are ate beforehand they'd never eat the actual dinner.

Roy had been just as horrified as Ed when he'd been told the rules. "It's no use arguing," Ed commented, "They'll just slap your hands if you get too close." He sighed. "It's going to be a long day."

Roy agreed immensely.

But there were other things to do besides eat. There were games to play, stories to be told, carols to be sung, and the evening closed in quickly and when it was time to eat, it was a loud affair because Roy's command had joined them as well.

Things seemed to end too soon for Ed and everyone eventually drifted home to spend the rest of the evening and night with their families or loved ones.

And so, Christmas concluded Roy and Ed's first year together.

Ed's eighteenth birthday came and went – Roy had taken him out for an exquisite dinner to Ed's embarrassment, but no one had thought much of it, just two good friends celebrating. But _after_.

Ed's body shuddered as he thought about what Roy had done to him. He had pretty much scrambled Ed's brains that night. He had made Ed sob, beg and plead for his release. Roy had drawn it out so that Ed was strung so tight that he felt he would fall apart. Ed's breath stuttered as he remembered quite clearly what had finally brought an end to the games,

"_Roy!" Ed's voice cracked. "Please, please, please." _

_Roy looked up from where he'd been kissing Ed's thigh and grinned. "Had enough?"_

"_More than enough," Ed groaned, and let his head drop back onto the pillow and his hips arch up. "So, just hurry up." _

"_Are you positive?" _

"_You know I love you Roy, but if you keep doing this I might just be forced to kill you." _

"_I feel like I've heard that before somewhere," Roy murmured and pressed a kiss to Ed's navel. "Very well then, I'll give you what you want." _

_Ed narrowed his golden eyes and tugged on Roy's hair a bit. "Then hurry up." _

_Roy moved swiftly and pressed into Ed slowly._

"_Thought you said you were going to give me what I wanted?" Ed complained. _

"_I am, aren't I?"_

"_You're moving too slo-oooow!" _

"_Too fast?" _

"_Fuck you, you bastard." _

Roy had laughed and after that it'd just been their voiceless (or not so voiceless cries) that had taken them over the edge.

Ed scrubbed a hand over his eyes in embarrassment. Well, in any case he had work left to do so he couldn't dally over thoughts such as those. He completed the thought he was writing and pushed the paper away, going to the window and staring out of it.

The sun was just sinking beyond the horizon and Ed felt something stirring. He'd seen Roy running about, seemingly preparing for something. He wondered if the military was up to no good again, and knowing how it functioned, they probably were.

Exhaustion pulled at Roy's body. The military was slowly tearing itself up with factions. As Bradley's health began to fail – it seemed he was slowly losing his mind – the Generals were all playing a tug of war over power. Even in the East Roy could feel the fight resonating – the few other Generals here were lower ranking but they too were being drawn into this fight.

Roy didn't want to become Fuhrer this way, he didn't want to have to fight for it – he wanted it to be popular vote and he wondered vaguely if he didn't get elected if he could convince whoever was that there was a need for a democracy.

He squeezed his nose between his thump and finger sighing. He looked down at the requisition forms and shuddered. The North was being hit by a Drachman offensive line - even though peace talks were being coordinated - and were in desperate need of more food supplies. He signed off on the request and marked it as URGENT so it would be immediately fulfilled.

He dragged his hand through his hair an hour and a half later this form was requesting rooms for a General who was going to be visiting from Central. Roy didn't have to wonder why he was coming. He was going to try and curry the soldier's favor here in the East.

This too he marked as urgent and set it into a pile to be sent out for when Hawkeye next came in. He spent the rest of the morning signing papers and responding to inquests. It was "fucking boring paper work" as Ed had termed it.

It was after lunch that General Grumman stopped by his office. Roy stood and saluted him. "What brings you down here General?"

"I just came to see if you'd gotten anything…interesting."

"Not really, sir. Mostly inquests and a request for rooms from a General that'll be visiting from Central."

"Aah. Did he say what he wanted."

"No sir. He simply said that he'd be visiting."

"Did he?"

"Well, Mustang, good to see you."

"You too, sir."

When Grumman left, Roy sank into his chair, leaned back and groaned.

Ed twirled the pen around and around in his hand as he stared blankly into space. Roy was working in the office early – last night he'd been distressed because a General from Central was visiting – due to said General visiting. Ed's teeth closed around the pen and thought some more. Roy was entirely too stressed out for his own good. One of the reasons they'd moved back to the east was because Roy wanted to be away from all the games. He took a sip of his coffee but spat it back in the cup right after.

Cold, he thought sourly. How long have I been sitting here anyways? Pushing his chair back he wandered into the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of coffee. There was a knock on the door as he leaned against the counter waiting for the coffee to brew. Casting a wary eye back at the coffee he opened the door to be greeted by the site of a military uniform. He frowned as he looked into the face of the man, a man he did not know personally but as his eyes landed on the stars and stripes he sucked his breath in. _The General from Central. _

"General." He greeted the man icily. "What do you need?"

"I actually need _you_ Elric." The General looked a bit smug.

"Go through the right channels. I don't do work unless it's been approved."

"Oh, that's not what I was referring to." The General let his teeth show. "Your…lover…wasn't as smart as he thought he was. Or well, perhaps he did and he simply failed to mention it to you."

"What," Edward asked through gritted teeth, "are you talking about?"

"The little clause where it allows us, the military, to well, reenlist you if we need you in event of a war. And _I_ need you. Don't bother arguing, Elric. You won't win."

Edward's mouth worked furiously. "You're lying. You can't force me to reenlist."

"I can and I am."

"You won't. Because even if it so happened that I reenlisted I'd be under _Roy's _command."

"But he'd be under mine."

"No he's not General, you're very mistaken. You _both_ hold the same rank. You have _no_ power."

"Oh but I do, I have leverage against Mustang – and it'd destroy him. So you'll do as I ask and you won't complain."

Ed's teeth ground together. "There _is no war_."

"But there will be. Oh, don't deny it. With Drachma, I bet Mustang hasn't told you that the Northern Defenses are being pushed back day by day and that there's nothing that can be done? Did he tell you that?"

"Roy doesn't hand out military intelligence to me."

"Well it doesn't matter, you'll be coming to the military headquarters so I can give you the information you need."

Tight lipped Edward followed the man back to Eastern Command. The General had his hand wrapped around the back of his neck and forced him along. Soldiers were staring and whispering as they caught sight of him and as they passed through a hallway the General let go and Ed dropped back. A few minutes later he stopped abruptly and seemed to be clearing his throat. "Mustang."

"Carver." Mustang's voice was clipped. "What was with all the commotion?"

"Me," Ed snapped, "Because he hauled me in here like a prisoner and claimed that he was sending me to Drachma because of a war that's beginning."

Roy's eyelids dropped to half-mast and his voice became dangerous. "Did he now? Did he also tell you that General Armstrong is now in negotiations?"

"No, but I knew it couldn't be true. He claimed he had some…leverage over you."

"_Did _he?"

General Carver made a noise in his throat and stepped back a bit. "It was ah," the man stumbled for words, "I hadn't heard tha-that."

"It was decided before you left Central. I don't know what your plans are General, but you'd best leave Edward out of them. He's free and clear of the military – there's nothing that can make him reenlist."

An angry breath huffed out of the General. "I bet there is, I bet you just don't – "

"I wrote out his resignation and his contract. I know there is no such clause in there. Be very careful who you try to manipulate Carver, you don't want to end up playing with fire because it's very easy to get burned."

Carver glared but backed away.

"Why would Carver want to start a war anyways?"

"Popularity…but also if you were the one helping initiate it he'd get more support from the people who liked you."

"That's sick."

"It's politics."

"You're not like that."

"I try not to be."

"That's why I like you." Edward flashed Roy a grin. "I'm going back to the house. The pot of coffee I was making is probably cold by now."

Roy squeezed Ed's shoulder and smiled down at him. "I'll be home later then." His hand moved to cup the back of Ed's head. Ed nearly purred.

Roy returned to the office and found Grumman waiting for him. "Well?"

"He's returning…without what he wanted."

"Good, good. I'll notify him then."

The General worked through the afternoon eager to get home to his lover, desperately wanting to see him, make sure he was still where he was supposed to be. Hawkeye must have sensed his urgency because she let him out early without a complaint.

Later that evening when Roy and Ed were sitting on the sofa- after a dinner of steaks and a side of baked potatoes - with a fire burning behind the grate Roy spoke.

"That in itself…what happened today, is one of the reasons I'm not running right now. The country is still recovering from one shock, it doesn't need another. But the main reason is that I want to protect you."

"I don't need protection," Ed groused.

"I know you don't. But still. If they hurt _you_ they'd hurt me."

"And if they hurt you, they'd hurt _me_."

Roy stroked through Ed's hair gently and smiled. Ed leaned against him and sighed as a butterfly kiss was placed on his head. There was a simple happiness sitting there together, watching the fire as it died down. And when the last log smoldered Roy pulled Edward up and to the bedroom.

They went through their nighttime ritual, Ed taking his hair down and slipping into one of Roy's shirts as Roy put on the bottoms – and then curling up under the sheets together, facing each other, whispering in the dark.

As they lay between the cool sheets Edward turned to Roy and murmured, "I'm glad Carver got caught today…otherwise I'd never have known."

"I'd've stopped him."

Roy felt Ed's lips curve into a smile against his shoulder. "I'm sure you would have."

Ed's hand landed on his cheek and he stroked the man's face gently. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done."

"What I've done?"

"Yeah…for everything. You know…with what happened to Al and me."

"Oh. Well, you don't have to thank me for it. I _was using_ you to achieve my own means."

"You still protected Al and I. So. Thank you. For that. For everything."

Roy opened his mouth to speak but Ed rode over him. "You moved back out here for me, so I could be closer to Al – don't give me that look Roy – you don't treat me like a child, you always put my needs first…you went out to that desert…you put up with my bad attitude…my bad mouth…I. I think everything of you. You're really, really important to me."

Ed ducked his head with a slight flush on his cheeks.

"Ed," Roy murmured and kissed Ed soundly. Ed felt positively giddy as his lover's arms wrapped more tightly around him, holding him close, protecting him. "You're important to me too. More than you can ever know. So much more. I'd die for you, I'd give up _everything_ for you."

Ed held onto Roy and closed his eyes huffing out a breath across the man's chest. "But I should be thanking you," Roy continued, "You brighten my life, you make it interesting, you're never dull, you're insanely intelligent, you make me so proud of you…"

"I'm nothing to be proud of I'm quite broken; I'm fragmented."

Roy's mouth twitched up into a small smile. "Cracks can be mended, broken things can be fixed. But you're not broken or fragmented. You're _perfect. _All those pieces you think are broken, they're just different parts of you, like imperfections in precious stones, it's what makes them valuable, it's what makes you, well, you."

"Hah," Ed snorted against Roy's shoulder. And then, "Really? I'm perfect?"

This time Roy laughed, "You _do _like fishing for compliments."

"Maybe a little. But you do too."

"Brat."

"Bastard."

Twin smirks were desperate to come out of hiding.

"Go to sleep." Roy placed a kiss on Ed's forehead after smoothing his bangs to the side.

"What if I don't want to?" Ed pretended to be sulky.

"Well then I guess I'll _make _you."

"Oh _yeah?_"

"You think I can't?"

"You can try if you want, but don't hawaaah-" Ed's sentence was cut off as Roy's mouth covered his.

When Ed woke the sun had already risen but Roy was still sleeping in their bed, his chest rising and falling with even, steady breaths, his black hair tousled against the pillow and his face relaxed and smooth. Ed padded over to the window and grinned as he looked outside. Snow blanketed the ground – probably the last snow of the season – and drifts were piled up in the street from where they'd been pushed to the side by cars. Ed dressed silently and when he opened the door a brush of chilly wind coiled itself around his bones and he shivered.

Ever so slowly he walked through the snow towards the street where the mailbox stood. When he turned about after retrieving the mail he saw his own footprints deeply embedded in the snow and smiled. There, standing in the doorway Roy gave him a slow, easy smile back. In that one moment Ed knew that everything was going to be okay, that they were going to be ok, no matter if another war started, if Roy never became Fuhrer, if the world stopped turning. Because Roy _loved _him. Roy unconditionally _loved _him. Roy moved away from door frame and walked across the snow to him letting his footprints meld with Ed's. They'd make their _own_ tracks now. And Ed knew. He knew it in the depths of his own heart, could feel it resounding in the beat of Roy's.

Ed loved this man. Loved him. Loved him. Roy's hand touched his cheek softly and he smiled. "Good morning, love."

"Mornin'."

Ed glanced up at the clear blue sky and for a moment it felt like he was a child again - the child who had looked up into that same blue sky all those years ago and simply _dreamed_ because he could – and laughed with wild abandon simply because _the chains were gone._

And just like how he knew he loved this man, he also knew it was this man who had undone those chains, had melted them away with his fire. With his love.

He threw his arms around Roy and the man pulled him close, and tilted his head up. Ed was met with a wry smile. "What," he breathed against Ed's ear, "is so funny?" Roy's voice was still husky and warm from sleep.

"They're _gone_."

He felt Roy's mouth curve into a smile as he kissed him. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

"Still short."

Well, almost perfect.

**The End. **


End file.
